Clifford Bernard Malone Jr was admitted to the California Bar 18th December 1975, but has since been disbarred. Clifford graduated from McGeorge SOL University of the Pacific.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Clifford Bernard Malone Jr |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 18 December 1975 (49 years, 6 months ago) |
| Status | Disbarred |
| Bar Number | 66689 |
Contact
| Phone Number | 925-899-8449 |
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Schools
| Law School | McGeorge SOL University of the Pacific (CA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | University of California Santa Barbara (CA) |
Address
| Current Address | PO Box 754 Diablo, CA 94528 |
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| Map |
History
| 24 August 2006 | Disbarred (18 years, 10 months ago) Disbarment 97-O-12631 |
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| 2 January 2004 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (21 years, 5 months ago) Ordered inactive 97-O-12631 |
| 3 October 2002 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 97-O-12631 (22 years, 8 months ago) |
| 18 December 1975 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (49 years, 6 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
August 24, 2006 CLIFFORD BERNARD MALONE JR. [#66689], 58, of Diablo was disbarred Aug. 24, 2006, and was ordered to comply with rule 955 of the California Rules of Court. Malone appealed a hearing judge’s disbarment recommendation, but the State Bar Court review department upheld most of the judge’s findings and agreed Malone should lose his license.He learned from a former paralegal that a group of investors had been swindled by a Carmichael-based bank by investing in fraudulent certificates of deposit. The paralegal and her investigator husband arranged a meeting between Malone and the potential plaintiffs, who hired Malone in 1990. He filed suit in 1991 and a jury awarded his clients almost $8 million. A dentist and his wife were awarded just over $1 million of the total judgment.The clients’ attempts to collect on the judgment were unsuccessful, but Malone told the dentist and his wife he knew of an investigator who could help. Malone was introduced to the investigator by a subcontractor who had installed tiles in his home. The investigator owned a food import and distribution company, repossessed boats on the side and was not licensed as an investigator. Malone did not check out his references.The dentist and his wife ultimately gave Malone $387,000 to recover the judgment, but received nothing. Malone twice told them he was close to getting their money.He testified at trial that the investigator told him there were threats against Malone and his family, who left the Bay Area for Greece, New York and Florida. The couple authorized him to spend $20,000 to protect himself.When the clients faced bankruptcy and sought an accounting from Malone, he chastised them and wrote, “Why are you bringing this matter up now when no one even faintly discussed such a request before? We all knew whom we were hiring and how [the investigator] worked from the very beginning.â€The bar court found that Malone paid himself or used for his benefit $54,540 from the couple’s trust account. He also advanced $42,014 of his own money in costs for the collection effort.The review department found that Malone improperly solicited clients, misappropriated client funds, engaged in fraud, represented adverse interests and he failed to account for client money, respond to clients’ status inquiries or keep them informed of developments in their case.In mitigation, he had no prior discipline record in 15 years of practice and he presented “an impressive demonstration of good character.†|